Karen's Tattletale Read online

  But guess what. Andrew had news, too, and he wanted to say his first. “It is very, very important, Karen,” he said.

  Mommy looked at me. “Can your news wait a few minutes?” she asked.

  “I guess so,” I replied.

  “Good,” said Andrew. “Because mine is really important.” Andrew stopped to take a breath. “Okay,” he said. “In school today someone did something very mean to me.”

  This was interesting. “What?” I asked.

  “Luke tattled on me. He told Miss Jewel I was splashing the paints while we were at the easels. Only guess what. Luke was the one who was splashing. I never splash.”

  “What happened?” Seth asked.

  “Miss Jewel believed Luke. And then … and then she punished me. Wasn’t that mean? It was mean of Luke, and mean of Miss Jewel, too.”

  “Andrew, I am sorry about that,” said Mommy.

  “What was your punishment?” I asked. It must have been something big. Otherwise Andrew would not have been so upset. I thought of Andrew standing in the corner all morning. Or being sent to the principal. Or having to clean up his whole classroom.

  “Miss Jewel said I could not paint at the easels for half an hour,” said Andrew. He narrowed his eyes.

  “That was it?” I cried. I tried not to laugh, but I could not help myself. “That was your big punishment? You could not paint — ”

  “Karen,” said Mommy angrily. “That is enough.”

  “But that is not a punishment! Not a bad one. I thought Andrew had to stand in the corner or — ”

  “It is too a bad punishment!” cried Andrew. “Miss Jewel never punished me before. She was mad at me.”

  “Oh, honey,” said Mommy. “I am sure she was not mad at you.”

  “Well, she gave me a punishment. And it was a bad one,” Andrew added, looking at me. “A very bad punishment.”

  I thought for a minute. Then I said, “Andrew, I guess that was a bad punishment after all. I mean, if Miss Jewel never punished you before.” Andrew did not say anything. “Andrew? … Andrew?”

  My brother turned his head away from me. He looked out the window.

  “Andrew, are you talking to me?” I asked.

  Andrew stared out the window for a few more moments. Then he said, “May I please be excused?”

  “Don’t you want to hear Karen’s news?” Seth asked.

  “No,” said Andrew.

  Seth sighed. “All right. You may be excused.”

  Andrew left the table. He carried his plate and his glass to the kitchen sink. He did not look at me once.

  “Well, Karen,” said Mommy. She smiled at me cheerfully. “What is your news? I am very curious.”

  I told Mommy and Seth about Jamboree Night and our medley and the tryouts for solo parts. But while I was talking, I was thinking about Andrew.

  After dinner, I asked my brother if he wanted to play a game with me. He would not answer me. I asked him if he wanted me to read a story to him. He would not answer me. Finally I said, “Andrew? Is it true that you have worms for brains?” But he would not even answer that.

  The Tattletale

  I knew that Andrew would be speaking to me again by the next morning. And I was right. When I said good morning to him, he said, “Meanie-mo.”

  “Why are you so mad, Andrew?” I asked him.

  “Because you are a meanie-mo.”

  “But what did I do?”

  “You laughed at me.” Andrew paused. Then he said, “You think you are so great. You think you know so much just because you are seven. Well, that is not true.”

  I stuck my tongue out at Andrew. Then I went into the bathroom. After that, I ran downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast.

  Andrew was right behind me. “Mommy,” he said, “Karen did not hang up her towel this morning.”

  “Karen, please hang it up before you start eating.”

  I stuck out my tongue at Andrew again.

  “Mommy, Karen stuck her tongue out at me,” said my brother.

  “Karen!” exclaimed Mommy. “What is the matter? Now please go back upstairs and hang up the towel.”

  I did. When I returned to the kitchen I slid into my place at the table. I picked up my spoon.

  “Mommy, Seth — Karen did not put her napkin in her lap,” said Andrew.

  I jammed my napkin into my lap. Then I tried to eat a peaceful breakfast. But Andrew would not let me.

  “Hey, Karen is putting sugar on her cereal,” he announced.

  “Karen, you know that cereal does not need sugar,” said Seth. “We have been through this before. It is full of sugar already.”

  I put the spoon back in the sugar bowl. Then I glared at Andrew.

  “Seth, Karen is staring at me,” said Andrew.

  “Karen, are you finished with your breakfast?” asked Seth.

  “In a big way,” I replied. I stood up carefully. I took my dishes to the sink. I folded my napkin. Then I headed upstairs.

  “Mommy, Karen did not push her chair in,” said Andrew.

  This time I did not care. I brushed my teeth in a hurry. I put on a sweater. I slung my backpack over my shoulders. Then I ran outside to the bus stop.

  “Mommy, Karen forgot to close the screen door,” I heard Andrew call from the house.

  I ignored him.

  The Biggest Tattletale in the World

  Whoosh, clunk. The doors of the bus closed behind me. School was over for another day. Nancy and Bobby and I walked slowly toward our houses. We scuffed our feet.

  “I sure hope Andrew is over being such a pain,” I said.

  “Why? What is he doing?” asked Bobby.

  “He is being the biggest tattletale in the world. He tells on me for everything. Every little thing.”

  “How come?”

  “He is mad at Karen,” Nancy told Bobby. “So he is getting back at her.”

  “He does not usually stay mad for long, though,” I said. “I bet he is over it by now.”

  I was wrong.

  “Good-bye!” I called to Nancy and Bobby. I ran into my house.

  “Mommy! Karen did not close the door again,” was the first thing I heard Andrew say.

  I stepped back outside. I slammed the door so hard it rattled the pictures in the hallway. One almost fell off the wall.

  “Mommy, did you hear that? Karen slammed the door too hard.”

  “Karen, did you have a bad day?” asked Mommy. She took my backpack from me.

  “Yes, thanks to Andrew,” I muttered. Mommy and I sat down at the table in the kitchen. I did not know where Andrew was, and I did not care. I poured myself some juice. “Mommy, Andrew has been tattling on me for everything,” I said. “He was horrible this morning, and now he is being horrible again.”

  “Honey, he is only four,” said Mommy. “And he is the baby in the family. I think he just wants to feel more important. Besides, you hurt his feelings.”

  “But I apologized to him.”

  “Well, why don’t you try again. I think he was too mad to hear you last night.”

  “Okay.” I was happy to try that — if it would make Andrew stop tattling.

  I found my brother playing with his Legos. “Hi, Andrew,” I said.

  Andrew glanced up at me. “Hi.”

  “I came to say I am sorry I laughed at you. I am sorry I did not take you seriously.” Andrew shrugged. “You know,” I went on, “sometimes people say things without thinking first. That is what I did last night. I was not thinking.”

  “Why weren’t you?” asked Andrew.

  “I don’t know.”

  Andrew gave me a Look.

  “Are you still mad at me?” I said. “You are. You are still mad at me. Andrew, that is just not fair.”

  “I can’t help it.”

  “But I apologized to you and everything. You are the one who is a meanie-mo, you know.” I ran out of the room.

  “Mommy! Karen is calling me names!” my brother yelled.

 
“Oh, go ahead and tattle,” I called back to him. “I am going to my room. And don’t you come after me. I need to be alone.”

  “Mommy! Karen is being mean to me!”

  “Karen, what on earth is going on?” asked Mommy.

  “Nothing,” I said as I marched by her. I just wanted to be away from Andrew. If I wasn’t near him, then he could not tattle on me for anything. (I hoped.)

  I went to my room. I closed my door. I decided that Andrew was going through a stage. I hoped it would be over soon.

  Karen Fights Back

  The next day was Wednesday. I woke up in a bad mood. This was because Andrew had tattled on me for six more things the night before. He would not leave me alone.

  But then I thought of something. Maybe his stage was over.

  I got out of bed. I peeked into Andrew’s room. “Good morning, Andrew!” I said brightly.

  “Mommy! Karen woke me up before I was ready!” he called out.

  “Karen, please leave your brother alone,” said Mommy. “Let’s not start this again.”

  “I tried to leave him alone last night, and he tattled on me for ignoring him,” I said.

  But nobody heard me.

  I went back to my room. I closed my door. I got dressed in private. Then I went into the bathroom. I washed my face. I hung up my towel. I straightened everything up.

  “Seth! Karen is hogging the bathroom!” Andrew yelled.

  Okay. That did it.

  I stomped to the bathroom door. I flung it open. There stood my brother the tattletale.

  “Andrew, quit telling on me!’ I shouted. “I am tired of it!”

  “Mommy! Karen is — ” Andrew started to call out.

  But I grabbed him. “Go ahead. Go ahead and tattle all you want,” I said. “I do not care anymore. Besides, I am going to tell Mommy and Seth all the things you have done.”

  “Like what?” asked Andrew.

  “Like you did not make your bed yet.”

  “Oops.”

  “And you did — ”

  “Karen! Andrew! What is going on?” cried Seth.

  By the time I left for the bus stop, I was madder than ever at Andrew, and he was madder than ever at me. And Mommy and Seth were cross with both of us.

  “What’s the matter?” Nancy asked when she saw my face.

  I told her about my fight with Andrew.

  “Boy,” said Nancy. “I hope you feel better by the time you try out for the solo.”

  The Tryouts

  I had been so busy fighting with my brother that I had forgotten about the tryouts. Now Nancy had reminded me.

  “Yikes, it’s Wednesday!’ I exclaimed. “I cannot believe I forgot. I did not practice a song or anything. This is all Andrew’s fault.”

  “Well,” said Nancy, “you know lots of songs, Karen. You even know the songs from The Wizard of Oz. Just pick one. You can practice it right now on the bus.’

  It was true. I did know the songs from The Wizard of Oz. That was because not long ago my stepbrother David Michael was in his school play, which was The Wizard of Oz. So on the bus that morning I practiced singing, “If I Only Had a Brain.”

  “That sounds pretty good,” said Nancy when we stepped off the bus.

  At ten-thirty that morning, Mrs. Noonan stuck her head into our room. “I am ready for your students now, Ms. Colman,” she said.

  Ms. Colman nodded. “Thank you.” Then she turned toward us kids. “Who wants to try out for a solo?” she asked.

  I raised my hand. So did about ten other kids. (Hannie and Nancy did not raise their hands. I was glad. I did not want to compete with my best friends.) But it turned out that I would have to compete with Ricky my pretend husband and Pamela my best enemy. Also Audrey Green, Hank Reubens, the twins, Jannie, Addie, Chris, and Natalie.

  Mrs. Noonan led us to the music room. She sat down at the piano. “Now,” she began, “as I said on Monday, when it is your turn, you may sing any song you like. I just want to hear your voice when you sing alone. You probably will not need to sing more than a few lines. If I know the music to your song I may play along, so I can hear you with the piano, too. I will choose three people to sing solos, and three understudies who can sing the solos, too. We need understudies in case the soloists cannot perform for some reason. All right. Who would like to go first? Please raise your hand.”

  I wanted to raise my hand, but I did not do it. Instead, I drew in three slow breaths. I needed to be very, very calm by the time I sang “If I Only Had a Brain.” Meanwhile, Pamela went first. She sang “Over the Rainbow.” Addie went second. She sang “We’re Off to See the Wizard.” I guess we all had the same idea.

  “Who wants to be next?” asked Mrs. Noonan when Addie had finished.

  Natalie raised her hand.

  “What are you going to sing?” Mrs. Noonan asked her.

  Natalie blushed. “Um, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,’ ” she said. “It is the only song I know all the words to. Okay. Here goes. ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer had a very shiny nose, and if you ever saw it you would even say it glows.’ ”

  Natalie had started singing so fast that Mrs. Noonan could not catch up with her on the piano. “That is fine, Natalie,” she said a few moments later. “Who’s next?”

  This time I raised my hand. “I will be singing ‘If I Only Had a Brain’ from The Wizard of Oz,” I announced.

  Mrs. Noonan knew the music. She played. I sang. “ ‘Oh, I could tell you why the ocean’s near the shore. I could think of things I never thunk before. And then I’d sit and think some more.’ ”

  “Very nice, Karen,” said Mrs. Noonan.

  Twenty minutes later, we had finished. Mrs. Noonan was looking at the notes she had made while we tried out. “Okay. The soloists will be,” she said, “Chris Lamar, Audrey Green, and Karen Brewer.” (Chris let out a yell.) “The understudies will be Hank Reubens for Chris, Ricky Torres for Audrey, and Pamela Harding for Karen.”

  Luckily, Andrew had not ruined the tryouts for me after all.

  More Tryouts

  Guess what. On Thursday we had more tryouts. Only these tryouts were for everybody in my class, and they were just for fun. They were for Field Day, and they were held during gym.

  “Boys and girls,” said Mrs. Brown (she is one of the gym teachers), “please listen up. I want to tell you about Field Day. On Field Day you may compete in all kinds of events. We will have sack races, relay races, rope-climbing races, three-legged races, and lots of silly contests. You will compete against other kids in your grade. You can sign up for any events you want, or for no events at all. Field Day is going to be just plain fun.

  “Today is your chance to test the events, and to see which ones you like or are good at. Some of the equipment, such as the ropes, is here in the gym. The rest is on the playground or on the playing fields. Feel free to try whatever you like. I will be helping you inside. Mr. Prata will help you outside.” (Mr. Prata is another gym teacher.)

  I turned to Hannie and Nancy. “Cool!” I said.

  “What should we try first?” asked Hannie.

  We looked around the gym. Then we looked around the playground. When we saw the jump ropes, Nancy cried, “Hey! That is for us! A rope-jumping contest.”

  If the Three Musketeers are good at anything it’s jumping rope. (Well, we are good at hopscotch, too, but we did not see a hopscotch contest.) We grabbed for some ropes.

  “You know you have to jump double,” said Mr. Prata.

  Jump double? That is hard. Two people jumping with one little skipping rope. Hannie and I tried it and we nearly fell down. We were chanting “Cinderella” and we only got to four before we tripped.

  “Okay, let’s try a sack race,” said Nancy.

  My friends and I took burlap sacks from a pile. We each stepped into one.

  “Take your marks, get set, go!” cried Hannie.

  Hannie and Nancy and I began jumping across the grass.

  “Faster! We have to go faster!”
I cried.

  And Nancy called out, “First one to the swings is the winner.”

  Jump, jump, jump. Nancy was ahead. Then Hannie was ahead. Then I was ahead. Then Nancy was ahead again.

  “Tag! I win!” Nancy had reached out and touched the swings.

  My friends and I fell on the ground, laughing.

  “This is fun!” I cried. “I am going to sign up for the sack race.”

  “So am I,” said Nancy and Hannie.

  “Now let’s try the three-legged race,” I said. “I have been in them before. It is hard, but it is fun.”

  Nancy and I tried it first. Hannie helped us tie my right leg to Nancy’s left leg. Then we hobbled across the playground. We laughed so hard we could not move very fast.

  “Okay, you try it with me now, Hannie,” said Nancy.

  Hannie and Nancy ran a little faster than Nancy and I had run. But then they fell, and Hannie skinned her knee. She started to cry. “I hate this stupid old three-legged race,” she said.

  Nancy and I took Hannie to Mrs. Pazden for a Band-Aid. (Mrs. Pazden is the nurse.) Afterward, we went back to gym class. It was almost over. My classmates were signing up for Field Day events.

  I signed up for three: the sack race, a running race, and the three-legged race. I noticed that Pamela had also signed up for the sack race and the three-legged race. And she was the understudy for my solo part in Jamboree Night. Hmm. Pamela and I were going to be seeing a lot of each other.

  Midgie’s Adventure

  It was Saturday again, another warm morning. A week had gone by, and Seth still had not fixed the door. And Andrew and I were still a little mad at each other. Andrew was not telling on me quite so much, and I was not yelling at him quite so much. But our fight was not quite over. So all morning we had run in and out of the house — but we were not quite playing with each other. Andrew was playing with Alicia and Kathryn and Willie, and I was playing with Nancy and Bobby.

  “Karen! Andrew!” Seth called. “Lunchtime.”